Transparent, abrasion resistant coating compositions

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed transparent, abrasion resistant coating compositions comprising a colloidal dispersion of a water insoluble dispersant in a water-alcohol solution of the partial condensate of silanol wherein the dispersant comprises metals, alloys, salts, oxides and hydroxides thereof.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part pending of application Ser. No. 136,757, filed Apr. 3, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,669, which application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 845,915, filed Oct. 27, 1977, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to coating compositions and in particular, relates to protective coating compositions for polymeric materials.

In recent years, synthetic polymeric materials have been utilized in a wide variety of applications. Transparent polymeric materials have been utilized as windows in aircraft and public buildings. Further, transparent polycarbonates and acrylics have been utilized in glazing for automobiles, buses and aircraft. Although these transparent polymers may be readily fabricated into the desired shape, unfortunately they have relatively low abrasion resistance. The prior method of enabling the use of these transparent polymers involves coating the surface of the polymers with a transparent, abrasion-resistant coating. Prior coating such as silica-containing solutions and polysilicic acid fluorinated copolymer have been utilized. Unfortunately, these coatings are difficult to apply, have a low humidity resistance or are expensive.

Another prior coating composition is disclosed in the Clark U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,997. The Clark composition comprised a colloidal dispersion of silica in a water-alcohol solution of the partial condensate of silanol. Although the Clark composition is suitable in some applications, in other applications, additional hardness, elongation and static dissipation was desired to enable the formation of a more suitable coating. Thus, a coating having an improved hardness, elongation and static dissipating capability is still desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved abrasion resistant coating composition. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a coating composition having improved elongation and static dissipating capabilities.

This and other objects and advantages are obtained by forming a transparent, abrasion resistant coating comprising a colloidal dispersion of a water insoluble dispersant in a water-alcohol solution of the partial condensate of silanol. The insoluble dispersant is preferably a metal, metal alloy, metal salt, metal oxide, or metal hydroxide that can be converted into a colloidal dispersion and is stable in the pH range of about 3 to about 6, with a pH of about 5.5 particularly preferred. The silanol preferably has the formula R(Si(OH)₃) where R is an organic radical such as a lower alkyl or vinyl, methoxyethyl, phenyl, gamma-glycidoxypropyl or gamma-methacryloxypropyl radical. Preferably, the partial condensate contains at least 30% by weight methyl trisilanol, and more preferably at least about 70% by weight of the partial condensate is methyl trisilanol.

A more thorough disclosure of the objects and the advantages of the present invention is presented in the detailed description which follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention contemplates the formation of a transparent, abrasion resistant coating comprising a colloidal dispersion of a water insoluble dispersant in a water-alcohol solution of the partial condensate of silanol.

The insoluble dispersants are preferably a metal, metal alloy, metal salt, metal oxide, or metal hydroxide which can be dispersed in the water alcohol solution of the partial condensate of silanol to form a colloidal dispersion. Suitable metals are antimony, aluminum, gold, silver, copper, tin, cadmium, and indium. Suitable alloys are mixtures of the above metals such as tin-antimony, tin-indium and tin-cadmium alloys. Suitable metal salts, metal oxides and metal hydroxides are oxides, nitrides, phosphates, sulfides, hydroxides, chlorides, sulfates or acetates of the above metals and alloys such as antimony oxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum acetate, tin-antimony oxides, cadmium stannate and indium-tin oxide. However, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that other water insoluble metals, metal alloys, metal salts, metal oxides and metal hydroxides which can be dispersed in a water-alcohol solution of the partial condensate of silanol to form a colloidal dispersion, are stable in the pH range of about 3 to about 6, and do not alter the silicone cure reaction or coating stability would also be suitable in the practice of the present invention.

In some cases, the dispersants of the present invention may be opaque. Suitable opaque dispersants preferably have a particle size small enough to avoid appreciable scattering of visible light thereby preventing the formation of a translucent or pigmented coating. Preferably, if the dispersant has a refractive index of about 1.5, the average colloidal particle size should be about 200 angstroms, whereas if the refractive index is 2.0 or greater, the average colloidal particle size should be about 100 angstroms or less. Particle sizes of less than 100 angstroms and especially from about 14 to about 20 millimicrons, are particularly preferred for superior optical clarity.

The colloidal dispersants function to improve the hardness and the elongation properties of the coating. Further, certain colloidal metals, metal alloys, metal salts, metal oxides and metal hydroxides such as copper, gold, silver, tin-antimony oxides, cadmium stannate and indium tin oxide also provided improved static dissipating properties.

The partial condensate preferably comprises trisilanols having the formula R(Si(OH)₃) wherein R is a low molecular weight, short chain organic radical and is preferably selected from the group of radicals consisting of lower alkyl or vinyl C₁ -C₄, methoxyethyl, phenyl, gamma-glycidoxypropyl or gamma-methacryloxypropyl. The organic radical functions to enable the formation of the polymeric coating. However, larger organic radicals hinder the crosslinking of the silanol and result in a softer coating. The partial condensate is preferably comprised of at least about 30% by weight methyl trisilanol, and more preferably at least about 70% by weight methyl trisilanol. In particularly preferred coating compositions, the partial condensate is comprised of 100% methyl trisilanol.

The partial condensate may also comprise mixtures of trisilanols and disilanols. The partial condensate comprising a mixture of tri and disilanols forms coatings having increased flexibility and decreased hardness. Therefore, it is preferred that the mixture comprise at least about 80% by weight of the trisilanol to form a coating having a suitable hardness.

The silanols are preferably generated in situ by the hydrolysis of the corresponding alkoxysilane in an aqueous dispersion of the insoluble dispersant. Suitable alkoxysilanes have alkoxy substituents such as methoxy, ethoxy, isopropoxy, methoxyethoxy, t-butoxy and acetoxy which, upon the hydrolysis of the silane, form the corresponding alcohol or acid. Upon the formation of the silanol in the acidic aqueous medium, a portion of the silicon-bonded hydroxyl groups of the silanol are condensed to form silicon-oxygen-silicon bonds. However, the silanol is only partially condensed and retains a portion of the silicon-bonded hydroxyl groups to render the polymer soluble in the water-alcohol solvent. The partial condensate can be characterized as having at least one silicon-bonded hydroxyl group for every three silicon-oxygen-silicon bonds. When the coating is cured, the remaining hydroxyl groups condense to form a selsesqufoxane, RSiO_(3/2).

The coating compostion of the present invention is preferably prepared by dispersing the dispersant in an aqueous or aqueous-alcohol solution to form a hydrosol. Suitable alcohols are lower aliphatic alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, isobutanol and n-butanol. However, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that other alcohols may also be utilized in the practice of the present invention. The hydrosol is then added to a solution of the alkoxysilane in acid. The solution of alkoxysilane contains a sufficient amount of acid so that the resulting mixture preferably has a pH from about 3 to about 6. At lower or higher pH, the dispersant tends to precipitate out from solution. A pH of about 4 to about 6, and especially about 5.5, is particularly preferred to provide a longer stable shelf life. The acid is preferably an organic acid such as acetic, chloroacetic, formic, and dimethyl-malonic because they evaporate readily when the coating is dried and they enhance adhesion of the coating to the substrate. Other suitable organic and inorganic acids are disclosed in the Clark U.S. patent, supra, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

In a short time after the hydrosol and alkoxysilane solution are mixed together, substantially all of the alkoxysilane is hydrolyzed to form the corresponding silanol and alcohol. A portion of the silanol is then condensed to form the partial condensate. It is preferred that the mixture contain enough alcohol to form a water-alcohol co-solvent system having from about 20% to about 75% by weight alcohol to insure the solubility of the partial condensate. Additional alcohol or another polar solvent such as acetone may be added to the mixture to form a suitable solvent system.

Preferably, the coating composition contains from about 10% to about 50% solids, and the solids consist of about 5% to about 70% of the colloidal dispersant and about 30% to about 95% of the partial condensate. Particularly preferred compositions contain about 16% solids of which about 10-20% by weight is the colloidal dispersant. However, it will be appreciated that the amount of solids in the coating and the composition of the solids may vary over a wide range depending upon the desired properties of the cured coating for particular applications.

Preferably, a latent condensation catalyst is added to the coating composition to enable curing of the coating composition under milder conditions to form the hard, abrasion resistant coating. Preferably a sufficient amount of the catalyst is added to the composition to comprise at least about 0.1% to about 4% by weight of the composition, and more preferably about 3% by weight of the composition. Suitable condensation catalysts for the present invention are choline acetate and sodium acetate. Other suitable condensation catalysts are disclosed in the Clark patent.

The coating composition of the present invention has a stable shelf life of about six months to one year. The composition can be readily applied to a variety of substrates such as glass, polycarbonates, acrylics, etc. and some metals, such as brass, by methods well known to the art skilled such as flow, spray or dip coating. Then the coating composition is cured at temperatures of about 65° to about 130° C. depending on the stability of the substrate for a period of time from about 1 to about 24 hours depending on the temperature to complete the condensation reaction and form the transparent abrasion-resistant coating of the present invention. The coating preferably has a thickness of about 1 to about 20 microns, with about 3 to 12 microns particularly preferred.

The following examples illustrate the present invention. The physical properties of the coating compositions of the present invention were compared to the physical properties of a coating formed according to the teachings of the Clark patent. The compositions of the present invention were formed as follows:

COMPOSITION I

An antimony-oxide colloidal dispersion in methyl silanol was made by reacting 18.0 grams of the oxide dispersion with a mixture of 18.0 grams of trimethoxy methyl silane and 1.3 grams of glacial acetic acid. The temperature was maintained from about 0° C. to 10° C. 31.6 grams of 2-propanol was then added to the solution. The mixture was allowed to digest for a period of about 48 hours and then 16.9 grams of 2-propanol, 12.6 grams of butanol and 0.9 grams of a 10% choline acetate solution in 2-propanol was added to the mixture. The mixture was then filtered and coated onto an acrylic substrate by flow film application. The coating was then dried to a tack-free condition at about 40% humidity at about 20° C. and cured at about 85° C. to 95° C. for about two hours.

COMPOSITION II

A dispersion comprising 208 grams of basic aluminum acetate in 312 grams distilled water was added to 200 grams of isopropyl alcohol with constant stirring at a temperature of about 5° to 10° C. Then, 250 grams of methyl trimethoxy silane was added slowly with stirring to the mixture while maintaining the reaction temperature. After one hour of stirring, 142 grams of isopropyl alcohol and 0.9 grams of a 10% choline acetate solution in 2-propanol was added to the mixture and the mixture was stirred for another hour. The product was filtered through a 1.2 micron filter using diatomaceous earth as a filtering aid. The composition was coated on acrylic as 26% solid by flow film application. The coating was then dried to a tack free condition at about 40% humidity at about 20° C. and cured for the four hours at 87° C.

The coated parts were tested for light transmission and haze using ASTM C-1003; taber abrasion using ASTM D-1044 (500 gms, 100 rev.), and adhesion and Elongation-Flexibility as follows:

Adhesion: Cross-hatch scribes are made on the surface of samples of the coated parts and 3M-60 cellophane tape is then affixed to the surface. The tape is then pulled away from the surface to remove the coating. The number of unaffected squares determines the percentage of adhesion of the coating to the substrate.

Elongation-Flexibility: Samples of the coated material having dimensions of one inch by ten inches are wrapped around mandrels having decreasing diameters from 84 inches to 8 inches. Each sample is then inspected with high-intensity lamps to determine coating failure as evidenced by perpendicular cracking across the coating. The Percent Elongation is then calculated as follows: ##EQU1## T=thickness of sample R=radium of mandrel at which coating failed.

The original results of the test are as follows, although a question may exist as to their reproducibility. In addition, it will also be recognized by those skilled in the art that exact duplication of such test results may be difficult as reproducibility is affected by subtle changes in raw materials, processing techniques, environmental conditions, and testing variables.

                  TABLE I                                                          ______________________________________                                                    Clark   Composition                                                                               Composition                                                 Coating I          II                                               ______________________________________                                         Light Transmission, %                                                                       93.9      92.0       93.2                                         Haze, %      0.2       0.08       0.25                                         Taber Abrasion, %                                                                           2.5       0.7        1.0                                          delta haze                                                                     Flexed Elongation                                                                           1.0       1.5        1.0                                          Adhesion %   100       100        100                                          ______________________________________                                    

From the above data, it can be seen that the coating composition of the present invention exhibits improved taber abrasion resistance and elongation. Further, the coating exhibits suitable adhesion to the substrates.

Additional coating compositions of the present invention containing various weight percentages of colloidal antimony oxide were prepared to test the effect of the percentage of the metal oxide colloidal dispersant upon the final coating performance. The coating compositions were prepared by blending the colloidal antimony oxide dispersion (Nyacol A-1550 from Nyacol, Inc., Megunco Road, Ashland, Mass. 01721) containing 50% solids with the water and with approximately 25% by weight of the glacial acetic acid, and cooling the solution to about 35° F. Methyl trimethoxy silane and the remainder of the glacial acetic acid were blended together, and this mixture was then added slowly with vigorous agitation to the solution containing the colloidal antimony oxide dispersant while maintaining the temperature between 35°-45° F. Stirring was continued until no odor of residual silane was detectable, and the blends were then stored at about 45° F. for about 24 hours. The alcohol and latent condensation catalyst were subsequently added to the final solution to obtain 16 percent total solids with 3 percent catalyst based upon the weight of the solids. The coating solutions were filtered, and then flow-coated onto cast acrylic sheets, air-dried for approximately 20 minutes at ambient temperature and then cured at 200° F. for 2 hours. The coated acrylic samples were then evaluated for adhesion and abrasion resistance at the same time and under the same conditions with the following results:

                  TABLE II                                                         ______________________________________                                                 A     B      C       D     E     F                                     ______________________________________                                         Methyl    406     386    366   345   325   284                                 trimethoxy                                                                     silane, grams                                                                  glacial acetic                                                                           32      32     32    32    32    32                                  acid, grams                                                                    Nyacol A-1550,                                                                           --      20     40    60    80    120                                 grams                                                                          Water, grams                                                                             242     220    198   176   153   109                                 Isopropanol,                                                                             369     391    413   436   459   504                                 grams                                                                          Butanol, grams                                                                           141     141    141   141   141   141                                 Choline acetate,                                                                         60      60     60    60    60    60                                  grams (10% in                                                                  isopropanol),                                                                  ratio antimony                                                                           0/100   5/95   10/90 15/85 20/80 30/70                               oxide/siloxane,                                                                wt % Ant. Oxide                                                                          0       5      10    15    20    30                                  % adhesion                                                                               100     100    100   100   100   100                                 Taber Abrasion                                                                 Resistance,                                                                              20.1    18.8   13.1  11.8  14.1  17.7                                Haze after                                                                     500 rev.                                                                       ______________________________________                                    

As shown in the above Table II, the incorporation of the colloidal antimony oxide particles significantly reduced the degree of abrasion, with coating compositions containing 10-20 weight percent antimony oxide having particularly improved abrasion resistance over the unfilled composition.

While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein described. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except as is necessary by the prior art and by the spirit of the apended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An article manufactured by applying to at least one surface of a substrate a coating composition which forms a transparent, abrasion-resistant coating upon curing, said coating composition consisting of an effective abrasion resisting amount of a colloidal dispersion of a water insoluble dispersant in a water-alcohol solution of the partial condensate of R(Si(OH)₃) wherein R is an organic radical, and said dispersant is an oxide of a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, aluminum, gold, silver, copper, tin, cadmium, indium, and mixtures thereof, and curing said coating composition.
 2. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein the cured coating composition forms a coating matrix of RSiO_(3/2) and the colloidal dispersant.
 3. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein the coating matrix consists of about 10 percent to about 70 percent of the colloidal dispersant.
 4. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein said organic radical is selected from the group consisting of C₁ -C₄ alkyl and vinyl, gamma-glycidoxypropyl and gamma-methacryloxypropyl.
 5. An article manufactured by applying to at least one surface of a substrate a coating composition which forms a transparent, abrasion-resistant coating upon curing, said coating composition containing an effective abrasion-resisting amount of a colloidal dispersion of a water insoluble dispersant in a water-alcohol solution of the partial condensate of R(Si(OH)₃) wherein R is an organic radical, and said dispersant is antimony oxide and curing the coating composition.
 6. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein the dispersant is aluminum oxide.
 7. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein the substrate is a polymethylmethacrylate plastic sheet.
 8. An article having a transparent, abrasion resistant coating applied to at least one of its surfaces, said coating forming a matrix of a colloidal dispersion containing an oxide of a metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, aluminium, gold, silver, copper, tin, cadmium, indium, and mixtures thereof, and RSiO_(3/2) wherein R is an organic radical.
 9. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein the substrate is glass.
 10. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein the substrate is polycarbonate.
 11. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein the substrate is acrylic.
 12. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein the substrate is brass.
 13. An article as set forth in claim 1 wherein the substrate is a polymeric material.
 14. An article as set forth in claim 5 wherein the substrate is glass.
 15. An article as set forth in claim 5 wherein the substrate is polycarbonate.
 16. An article as set forth in claim 5 wherein the substrate is acrylic.
 17. An article as set forth in claim 5 wherein the substrate is brass.
 18. An article as set forth in claim 5 wherein the substrate is a polymeric material.
 19. An article as set forth in claim 1, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of antimony.
 20. An article as set forth in claim 1, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of aluminium.
 21. An article as set forth in claim 1, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of gold.
 22. An article as set forth in claim 1, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of silver.
 23. An article as set forth in claim 1, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of copper.
 24. An article as set forth in claim 1, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of tin.
 25. An article as set forth in claim 1, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of cadmium.
 26. An article as set forth in claim 1, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of indium.
 27. An article as set forth in claim 8, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of antimony.
 28. An article as set forth in claim 8, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of aluminium.
 29. An article as set forth in claim 8, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of gold.
 30. An article as set forth in claim 8, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of silver.
 31. An article as set forth in claim 8, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of copper.
 32. An article as set forth in claim 8, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of tin.
 33. An article as set forth in claim 8, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of cadmium.
 34. An article as set forth in claim 8, wherein said dispersant is an oxide of indium. 